Semiconductor structure with air gap and method sealing the air gap

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor structure in accordance with some embodiments. The method includes receiving a substrate having an active region and an isolation region; forming gate stacks on the substrate that extends from the active region to the isolation region; forming an inner gate spacer and an outer gate spacer on sidewalls of the gate stacks; forming an interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer on the substrate; forming a mask layer over the substrate that exposes a portion of the ILD layer and a portion of the outer gate spacer; selectively etching the exposed portion of the outer gate spacer, resulting in an air gap between the inner gate spacer and the ILD layer; and performing an ion implantation process on the exposed portion of the ILD layer to seal the air gap.

PRIORITY DATA

This is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No.17/106,859, filed Nov. 30, 2020, which is a continuation application ofU.S. application Ser. No. 16/262,235, filed Jan. 30, 2019, which furtherclaims the benefit of U.S. Prov. App. No. 62/698,487 entitled“Semiconductor Structure with Air gap and Method Sealing the Air Gap,”filed Jul. 16, 2018, each of which is herein incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapidgrowth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have producedgenerations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complexcircuits than the previous generation. However, these advances haveincreased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, forthese advances to be realized, similar developments in IC processing andmanufacturing are needed. In the course of integrated circuit evolution,functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chiparea) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallestcomponent (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) hasdecreased. ICs may include electronic components, such as transistors,capacitors, or the like, formed on a substrate. Interconnect structures,such as vias and conductive lines, are then formed over the electroniccomponents to provide connections between the electronic components andto provide connections to external devices. To reduce the parasiticcapacitance of the interconnect structures, the interconnect structuresmay be formed in dielectric layers including a low-k dielectricmaterial. However, even with the low-k dielectric material, theparasitic capacitance is still not tolerable due to the small dimensionsin the advanced technology nodes. Accordingly, what is needed is acircuit structure and a method making the same to address the aboveissues.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures Aspects ofthe present disclosure are best understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying figures. It is noted that,in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, variousfeatures are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the variousfeatures may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity ofdiscussion.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method of forminga semiconductor structure or portion thereof in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a top view of a semiconductor structure at a fabricationstage constructed according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 2B, 2C and 2D are cross-sectional views of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 2A along the dashed lines AA′, BB′ and CC′,respectively, constructed according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the semiconductor structure at a differentfabrication stage constructed according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of the semiconductorstructure at various fabrication stages constructed according to someembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the provided subjectmatter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are describedbelow to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merelyexamples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formationof a first feature over or on a second feature in the description thatfollows may include embodiments in which the first and second featuresare formed in direct contact and may also include embodiments in whichadditional features may be formed between the first and second features,such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,”“above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of thedevice in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degreesor at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein may likewise be interpreted accordingly.

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure with an airgap between the interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer and the gate spacer.The present disclosure also provides a method to forming and sealing theair gap. Especially, the method includes removing a sacrificial gatespacer on the shallow trench isolation (STI) feature and performing anion implantation to the ILD layer, thereby expanding a top portion ofthe ILD layer to cap the air gap.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , illustrated therein is a flowchart of oneembodiment of a method 100 used to fabricate a semiconductor structurewith an air gap disposed between the gate spacer and the ILD layer andcaped by the expanded ILD layer. FIG. 2A is a top view; FIG. 2B is asectional view along the dashed line AA′; FIG. 2C is a sectional viewalong the dashed line BB′; and FIG. 2D is a sectional view along thedashed line CC′ of the semiconductor structure 200 at one fabricationstage in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3 is a top view at alater fabrication stage. FIGS. 4-8 are sectional views of thesemiconductor structure 200 at various fabrication stages along thedashed line BB′, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the semiconductorstructure 200 at a fabrication stage along the dashed line AA′constructed according to various aspects of the present disclosure insome embodiments. The method 100 and the IC structure 200 arecollectively described with reference to FIGS. 1 ˜9.

Referring to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D, the method 100 begins with block102 by providing a semiconductor substrate 202. The semiconductorsubstrate 202 includes silicon. In some other embodiments, thesemiconductor substrate 202 includes germanium, silicon germanium orother proper semiconductor materials. The semiconductor substrate 202may alternatively be made of some other suitable elementarysemiconductor, such as diamond or germanium; a suitable compoundsemiconductor, such as silicon carbide, indium arsenide, or indiumphosphide; or a suitable alloy semiconductor, such as silicon germaniumcarbide, gallium arsenic phosphide, or gallium indium phosphide.

The semiconductor substrate 202 also includes various doped regions suchas n-well and p-wells. In one embodiment, the semiconductor substrate202 includes an epitaxy (or epi) semiconductor layer. In anotherembodiment, the semiconductor substrate 202 includes a buried dielectricmaterial layer for isolation formed by a proper technology, such as atechnology referred to as separation by implanted oxygen (SIMOX). Insome embodiments, the semiconductor substrate 202 may be a semiconductoron insulator, such as silicon on insulator (SOI).

Still referring to FIGS. 2A through 2D, the method 100 proceeds to anoperation 104 by forming shallow trench isolation (STI) features 204 onthe semiconductor substrate 202. In some embodiments, the STI features204 are formed by a procedure that includes an etching process to formtrenches; filling the trenches with dielectric material by deposition;and polishing to remove the excessive dielectric material and planarizethe top surface. The etching process may include one or more etchingsteps applied to the semiconductor substrate 202 through openings of asoft mask (such as a photoresist layer formed by a lithography process),or a hard mask that is patterned by a lithography process and etching.

The etching process is applied to the semiconductor substrate 202through the openings of a patterned mask layer, thereby formingtrenches. The etching processes may include any suitable etchingtechnique such as dry etching, wet etching, and/or other etching methods(e.g., reactive ion etching (RIE)). In some embodiments, the etchingprocess includes multiple etching steps with different etchingchemistries, designed to etching the substrate to form the trenches withparticular trench profile for improved device performance and patterndensity. In some examples, the semiconductor material of the substratemay be etched by a dry etching process using a fluorine-based etchant.One or more dielectric material is filled in the trenches by deposition.Suitable fill dielectric materials include semiconductor oxides,semiconductor nitrides, semiconductor oxynitrides, fluorinated silicaglass (FSG), low-K dielectric materials, and/or combinations thereof. Invarious embodiments, the dielectric material is deposited using aHDP-CVD process, a sub-atmospheric CVD (SACVD) process, a high-aspectratio process (HARP), a flowable CVD (FCVD), and/or a spin-on process.Then, a chemical mechanical polishing/planarization (CMP) process isapplied to remove the excessive dielectric material and planarize thetop surface of the semiconductor structure 200.

After the operation 104, active regions are defined on the semiconductorsubstrate 202 and are surrounded by the STI features 204. In someembodiments, the active regions are 3-dimensional, such as fin activeregions 206, formed by an operation 106.

Referring to FIGS. 2A through 2D, the method 100 proceeds to theoperation 106 by forming the fin active regions 206. The fin activeregions 206 are extruded above the STI features 204, as illustrated inFIG. 2D. In some embodiments, the operation 106 includes recessing theSTI features 204. The recessing process employs one or more etchingsteps (such as dry etch, wet etch or a combination thereof) toselectively etch back the STI features 204. For example, a wet etchingprocess using hydrofluoric acid may be used to etch when the STIfeatures 204 are silicon oxide. The fin active regions 206 are orientedalong a first direction (X direction) and spaced from each other in asecond direction (Y direction).

Various doping processes may be applied to the semiconductor substrate202 to form various doped wells, such as n-wells and p-wells at thepresent stage or before the operation 106. Various doped wells may beformed in the semiconductor substrate 202 by respective ionimplantations.

Still referring to FIGS. 2A-2D, the method 100 proceeds to an operation108 by forming gate stacks 208 on the semiconductor substrate 202. Eachof the gate stacks 208 further includes a gate electrode 210 and a gatedielectric layer 212. In the present embodiment, the gate stacks 208have elongated shapes and are oriented in the second direction (Ydirection). Each of the gate stacks 208 may be disposed over multiplefin active regions 206. Especially, the gate stacks 208 are disposed onthe fin active regions 206 and extended onto the STI features 204. Thus,each of the gate stacks 208 includes portions landing on the fin activeregions 206 and portions landing on the STI features 204. The operation108 also includes forming an inner gate spacer 214, an outer gate spacer216, source/drain (S/D) features 218, and an interlevel dielectric (ILD)layer 220. The operation 108 further includes multiple operationsaccording to some embodiments. In the present embodiment, the operation108 further includes operations 110, 112, 114, 116 and 118, which arefurther described below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2A˜2D.

The method 100 (or the operation 108) includes the operation 110 byforming dummy gates (not shown in FIGS. 2A˜2D since those are to bereplaced by the gate stacks 208 at the operation 118 and are located atthe locations of the gate stacks 208). The dummy gates may include adielectric material layer (such as silicon oxide) and polysilicon. Theformation of the dummy gates includes depositing the dummy gatematerials (such as forming a silicon oxide layer and depositing apolysilicon layer); and patterning the dummy gate materials by alithographic process and etching. A hard mask may be formed on the dummygate materials and is used as an etch mask during the formation of thedummy gates. The gate hard mask may include any suitable material, suchas a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride, a silicon carbide, a siliconoxynitride, other suitable materials, and/or combinations thereof. Inone embodiment, the gate hard mask includes multiple films, such assilicon oxide and silicon nitride. In some embodiments, the patterningprocess to form the dummy gates includes forming a patterned photoresistlayer on the hard mask by lithography process; etching the hard maskusing the patterned resist layer as an etch mask; and etching the gatematerials to form the dummy gates using the patterned hard mask as anetch mask.

The method 100 also includes the operation 112 by forming gate spacers,which include the inner gate spacer 214 and the outer gate spacer 216,on sidewalls of the dummy gates. The gate spacers (the inner gate spacer214 and the outer gate spacer 216) may include any suitable dielectricmaterial, such as a semiconductor oxide, a semiconductor nitride, asemiconductor carbide, a semiconductor oxynitride, other suitabledielectric materials, and/or combinations thereof. The inner gate spacer214 includes a first dielectric material and the outer gate spacer 216includes a second dielectric material different from the firstdielectric material in composition to achieve etch selectivity. In someembodiments, the first dielectric material includes one of SiCN, SiOCN,SiOC, and a combination thereof; and the second dielectric materialincludes a low-k dielectric material, such as fluorinated silica glass(FSG), carbon doped silicon oxide, Xerogel, Aerogel, amorphousfluorinated carbon, polyimide, other suitable low-k dielectric material,or a combination thereof. The formation of the gate spacers includesdepositing the first and second dielectric materials and anisotropicetching, such as dry etching.

The method 100 proceeds to an operation 114 by forming the S/D features218. The S/D features 218 may include both light doped drain (LDD)features and heavily doped source and drain (S/D). For example, eachfield effect transistor includes source and drain features formed on therespective fin active region and interposed by the corresponding gatestack 208. A channel is formed in the fin active region in a portionthat is underlying the gate stack and spans between the correspondingS/D features 218.

In some embodiments, the S/D features 218 are raised S/D features formedby selective epitaxy growth for strain effect with enhanced carriermobility and device performance. The dummy gates, the inner gate spacer214 and the outer gate spacer 216 constrain the S/D features 218 to beformed within source and drain regions. In some embodiments, the S/Dfeatures 218 are formed by one or more epitaxy or epitaxial growth,whereby Si features, SiGe features, SiC features, and/or other suitablefeatures are grown in a crystalline state on the fin active regions 206.Alternatively, an etching process is applied to recess the source anddrain regions before the epitaxy growth. A suitable epitaxy growthincludes CVD deposition techniques (e.g., vapor-phase epitaxy (VPE)and/or ultra-high vacuum CVD (UHV-CVD), molecular beam epitaxy, and/orother suitable processes. The epitaxy growth may use gaseous and/orliquid precursors, which interact with the composition of the fin activeregions 206.

The S/D features 218 may be in-situ doped during the epitaxy process byintroducing doping species including: p-type dopants, such as boron orBF₂; n-type dopants, such as phosphorus or arsenic; and/or othersuitable dopants including combinations thereof. If the S/D features 218are not in-situ doped, an implantation process (i.e., a junction implantprocess) is performed to introduce the corresponding dopant into the S/Dfeatures 218. In an embodiment, the S/D features 218 in an n-type fieldeffect transistor (nFET) include SiC or Si doped with phosphorous, whilethose in a p-type field effect transistor (pFET) include Ge or SiGedoped with boron. In some other embodiments, the S/D features 218include more than one semiconductor material layers. For example, asilicon germanium layer is epitaxially grown on and a silicon layer isepitaxially grown on the silicon germanium layer. One or more annealingprocesses may be performed thereafter to activate the S/D features 218.Suitable annealing processes include rapid thermal annealing (RTA),laser annealing processes, other suitable annealing technique or acombination thereof.

The method 100 proceeds to an operation 116, in which an ILD layer 220is formed on the semiconductor substrate 202, covering the S/D features218. The ILD layer 220 is not shown in FIG. 2A so that those features(such as the S/D features 218) underlying the ILD layer 220 areviewable. The ILD layer 220 surrounds the dummy gates, the inner gatespacer 214 and the outer gate spacer 216 allowing the dummy gates to beremoved and a replacement gate to be formed in the resulting gatecavity. In the present embodiment, the ILD layer 220 is chosen with acomposition to effectively achieve the expansion for air gap sealing byan ion implantation process. The ILD layer 220 includes one or moresuitable dielectric material, such as SiN, SiOC, SiOCN, SiCN, Si, SiGe,SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, Ge, W, TaN, TiN, HfO₂, ZrO₂, La₂O₃, or a combinationthereof. The formation of the ILD layer 220 includes deposition (such asCVD, or high-density plasma CVD-HDPCVD) and CMP to provide a planarizedtop surface. In some embodiments, the operation 116 also includesforming an etch stop layer 222 to provide etch stop during theoperations to form contacts to the S/D features 218. The etch stop layer222 is different from the ILD layer 220 in composition to have desiredetch selectivity. In some embodiments, the etch stop layer 222 includesone of SiCN, SiOCN, SiOC, SiN, and a combination thereof.

The method 100 proceeds to an operation 118 for gate replacement. In theoperation 118, the dummy gates are replaced by the gate stacks 208having high-k dielectric material and metal. The operation 118 includesperforming an etching process to selectively remove the dummy gates,resulting in gate cavities; and depositing gate materials (includinghigh-k dielectric material and metal) in the gate cavities; andperforming a CMP process to remove the excessive gate materials from theILD layer 220. Especially, the gate stacks 208 includes the gateelectrode 210 and the gate dielectric layer 212. The gate electrode 210includes metal, metal alloy or a combination thereof. The gatedielectric layer 212 includes a high-k dielectric material. Since thegate dielectric layer 212 is conformally deposited in the gate cavitiesand is therefore U-shaped as illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 2C.

The gate dielectric layer 212 and the gate electrode 210 each mayinclude a plurality of sub-layers. In some embodiments, the gatedielectric layer 212 includes a high-k dielectric material that is ametal oxide or metal nitride, such as LaO, AlO, ZrO, TiO, Ta₂O₅, Y₂O₃,SrTiO₃ (STO), BaTiO₃ (BTO), BaZrO, HfZrO, HfLaO, HfSiO, LaSiO, AlSiO,HfTaO, HfTiO, (Ba,Sr)TiO₃ (BST), Al₂O₃, Si₃N₄, oxynitrides (SiON), orother suitable high-k dielectric materials. The gate dielectric layer212 may further includes an interfacial layer sandwiched between thehigh-k dielectric material layer and the fin active region. Theinterfacial layer may include silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconoxynitride, and/or other suitable material. The interfacial layer isdeposited by a suitable method, such as ALD, CVD, ozone oxidation, etc.The high-k dielectric layer is deposited on the interfacial layer (ifthe interfacial layer presents) by a suitable technique, such as ALD,CVD, metal-organic CVD (MOCVD), PVD, thermal oxidation, combinationsthereof, and/or other suitable techniques.

The gate electrode 210 may include Ti, Ag, Al, TiAlN, TaC, TaCN, TaSiN,Mn, Zr, TiN, TaN, Ru, Mo, Al, WN, Cu, W, or any suitable materials. Insome embodiments, different metal materials are used for nFETs and pFETswith respective work functions. For example, the gate electrode 210 mayinclude a capping layer, a work function metal layer, and a fillingmetal layer. In furtherance of the embodiments, the capping layerincludes titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or other suitable material,formed by a proper deposition technique such as ALD. The filling metallayer includes aluminum, copper, silicide, suitable other metal, ormetal alloy deposited physical vapor deposition (PVD) or other suitabledeposition technology,

The work functional metal layer includes a conductive layer of metal ormetal alloy with proper work function such that the corresponding FET isenhanced for its device performance. The work function (WF) metal layeris different for a pFET and a nFET, respectively referred to as ann-type WF metal and a p-type WF metal. The choice of the WF metaldepends on the FET to be formed on the active region. For example, ann-type WF metal is a metal having a first work function such that thethreshold voltage of the associated nFET is reduced. For example, then-type WF metal has a work function of about 4.2 eV or less. A p-type WFmetal is a metal having a second work function such that the thresholdvoltage of the associated pFET is reduced. For example, the p-type workfunction metal has a WF of about 5.2 eV or higher. In some embodiments,the n-type WF metal includes tantalum (Ta). In other embodiments, then-type WF metal includes titanium aluminum (TiAl), titanium aluminumnitride (TiAlN), or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, thep-type WF metal includes titanium nitride (TiN) or tantalum nitride(TaN). In other embodiments, the p-type WF metal includes TiN, TaN,tungsten nitride (WN), titanium aluminum (TiAl), or combinationsthereof.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the method 100 may include an operation 120 toform a patterned mask layer 302 on the semiconductor structure 200 withopenings 304 to define the regions where one or more air gap is to beformed. In the present embodiment, the air gap is only formed on the STIfeatures 204 but not on the fin active regions 206. FIG. 3 is a top viewof the semiconductor structure 200. The patterned mask layer 302 isillustrated in FIG. 3 as transparent for better view. The patterned masklayer 302 may be a soft mask, such as photoresist formed by alithography process; or alternatively be a hard mask formed bydeposition, lithography process and etching.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the method 100 proceeds to an operation 122 byremoving the outer gate spacer 216, resulting in an air gap 402 betweenthe inner gate spacer 214 and the ILD layer 220. FIG. 4 is a sectionalview of the semiconductor structure 200 along the X direction on the STIfeature 204 (along the dashed line AA′ of FIG. 3 but at a differentfabrication stage where the air gap 402 is formed by the operation 122).In some embodiments, the outer gate spacer 216 is removed by an etchingprocess using the patterned mask layer 302 as an etch mask such thatonly the portions of the outer gate spacer 216 on the STI features 204are removed but the portions of the outer gate spacer 216 within the finactive regions 206 remain. The ILD layer 220 between the adjacent gatestacks 208 spans a width d1. The air gap 402 has a height h1 and a widthd2. In some examples, the ratio d2/d1 is greater than 10%. In someexamples, the ratio d2/d1 ranges between 10% and 30%. In yet someexamples, the height h1 is less than 200 nm; the width d1 ranges between5 nm and 50 nm; and the width d2 is less than 10 nm.

The etching process may be dry etch, wet etch, or a combination thereof.The openings 304 of the patterned mask layer 302 are designed to definethe regions to form the air gaps but the etching process is stilldesigned with etch selectivity to other features, such as the inner gatespacer 214, the etch stop layer 222, and even the ILD layer 220.Furthermore, the composition of the outer gate spacer 216 is differentfrom the compositions of those features, and the etching process choosesan etchant to selectively remove the outer gate spacer 216 withoutsubstantially etching to other features including such as the inner gatespacer 214 and the etch stop layer 222.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the method 100 proceeds to an operation 124 byperforming an ion implantation process to the ILD layer 220, therebyexpanding the ILD layer 220 to cap the air gap 402. The ion implantationprocess introduces one or more dopant to a top portion 502 of the ILDlayer 220, coverts the top portion 502 into the implanted portion, andleaves a bottom portion 504 of the ILD layer 220 as an nonimplantedportion. The ion implantation process increases the volume of the topportion 502, expands the top portion 502 laterally and seals the air gap402. The expanded portion 506 of the top portion 502 servers as a cap toseal the air gap 402, therefore also referred to as expanded cap 506. Insome embodiments, the ion implantation process is performed using thepatterned mask 302 to control the implantation only to the desiredregions. The patterned mask layer 302 may be removed after the operation124. When the top portion 502 of the ILD layer 220 is expanded, thecorresponding portion of the etch stop layer 222 is pushed to reach theinner gate spacer 214, thereby capping the air gap 402.

The top portion 502 of the ILD layer 220 has a height h2 and a top widthd1+2*d2 after the ion implantation process. The air gap 402 is definedbetween the ILD layer 220 and the gate stack 208. More specifically, theair gap 402 vertically and horizontally spans between the inner gatespacer 214 and the etch stop layer 222. To seal the air gap 402, the ILDlayer 220 needs to be expanded at each edge by d2 to reach the innergate spacer 214. In other words, the top surface of the ILD layerhorizontally expands from the original width d1 to an expanded widthd1+2*d2. The expanded volume is proportional to d2/d1. For example, ifthe expanded portion over the air gap 402 is a triangle, then the finalvolume over the original volume of the top portion 502 equals to(d1+d2)/d1. The volume expansion of the top portion 502 of the ILD layer220 is associated with the dopant concentration and, in some embodiment,is proportional to the dopant concentration. For example, if therelative volume expansion of the top portion 502 can reach d2/d1, thenthe air gap will be sealed. In the present embodiment, the ratio d2/d1is greater than 10%, or ranges from 10% to 30% according to someembodiments. The ion implantation process is designed to have dopantconcentration high enough to ensure that the air gap 402 is sealed byexpansion. In some embodiments, the dopant concentration is controlledby a combination of ion beam current and implantation duration of theion implantation process to expand the ILD layer 220 (such as more 10%)such that the air gap 402 is sealed. Accordingly, the ion implantationprocess has a high dosage, such as the dopant concentration in the topportion 502 ranging from 1E11 to 1E17 atoms/cm2, in accordance with someembodiments.

In some embodiments, the ion implantation process is performed byvarying an implantation tilt angle from 60° to −60° while thesemiconductor substrate 202 rotates for implantations at variousdirections, controlling the shape of expanded cap 506 of the top portion502 of the ILD layer 220. The shape of expanded cap 506 is also relatedto the height h2 of the top portion 502, which is controlled by theimplantation energy. The height h2 is controlled to a range, such asless than 50 nm, for maximized volume of the air gap 402 and witheffective sealing effect. By controlling a combination of the dosage,the ion beam current, the implantation duration, the implantationenergy, and the implantation tilt angle, the ILD layer 220 expands toeffectively seal the air gap 402 and can achieve various shape of theexpanded cap 506, such as a triangle shape as illustrated in FIG. 6 ; ora square shape as illustrated in FIG. 7 ; or a bowing shape asillustrated in FIG. 8 .

In some embodiment, the ion implantation process includes introducinginto the ILD layer 220 a first dopant species selected from nickel (Ni),fluorine (F), boron fluoride (BF), germanium (Ge), cobalt (Co), argon(Ar), arsenic (As), gallium (Ga), antimony (Sb), indium (In), and acombination thereof. In some embodiment, the ion implantation processincludes introducing the first dopant species and additionallyintroducing a second t dopant species selected from carbon (C),phosphorous (P), silicon (Si), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O),and a combination thereof. In this case, the collective dopantconcentration in the top portion 502 may range from 1E11 to 1E17atoms/cm2, in accordance with some embodiments.

In other method, an air gap may be sealed by deposition. If thedeposited sealing film has a good uniformity, the sealing film will fillin the air gap and destroys the air gap. If the deposited sealing filmhas a poor uniformity, the sealing film will experience a loadingeffect, by which the sealing film fills in the air gap unevenly when thepattern density is uneven. By the disclosed method, the air gap issealed by expanding the ILD layer laterally when the dopant isintroduced into the ILD layer by an ion implantation process.Furthermore, the ion implantation process is designed through acombination of the ion beam current, the implantation duration, theimplantation energy, and the implantation tilt angle such that the ILDlayer 220 expands to seal the air gap 402 effectively and has the volumeof the air gap 402 maximized. By tuning the combination of the aboveprocessing parameters, the top portion 502 of the ILD layer 220 isexpanded to form the expanded cap 506 having various shapes, such as atriangle shape as illustrated in FIG. 6 ; or a square shape asillustrated in FIG. 7 ; or a bowing shape as illustrated in FIG. 8 , tobalance the sealing effect and the air gap volume. For example, thetriangle shape in FIG. 6 has largest air gap volume, the square shape inFIG. 7 has greatest sealing effect, and the bowing shape in FIG. 8 hasan air gap volume greater than that of FIG. 7 and a sealing effectbetter than that of FIG. 6 .

The method 100 may include other operations before, during or after theabove described operations. For example, the method 100 includes anoperation 126 to form contacts 902 landing on the S/D features 218, asillustrated in FIG. 9 . Note that FIG. 9 is a sectional view of thesemiconductor structure 200 cut along the fin active region 206 whereinthe ILD layer 220 is not implanted and therefore is not expanded. Thecontacts 902 are conductive features electrically connecting thecorresponding S/D features 218 to the overlying interconnectionstructure 904 to form an integrated circuit. The contacts 902 include aplug of a conductive material (including metal and metal alloy), such astungsten (W), aluminum (Al), aluminum alloy, copper (Cu), cobalt (Co),nickel (Ni), other suitable metal/metal alloy, or a combination thereof.Note that the ILD layer 220 within the fin active regions 206 is notimplanted and is not expanded. In some embodiments, the contacts 902further includes a barrier layer lining the contact holes to enhance thematerial integration, such as increasing adhesion and reducinginter-diffusion. The barrier layer may include more than one film, suchas titanium and titanium nitride (Ti/TiN), tantalum and tantalum nitride(Ta/TaN), copper silicide, or other suitable material. The formation ofthe contacts 902 includes patterning the ILD layer 220 to form contactholes; depositing a barrier layer to lining the contact holes,depositing of conductive material(s) on the barrier layer within thecontact holes; and performing a CMP process to remove excessiveconductive material and planarize the top surface according to someembodiments.

The method 100 may also include an operation 128 by forming theinterconnection structure 904 on the semiconductor structure 200. Theinterconnection structure 904 includes various conductive features tocouple the various device features (such as the gate stacks 208 and theS/D features 218) to form a functional circuit. Particularly, theinterconnection structure 904 includes multiple metal layers to providehorizontal electrical routing and vias to provide vertical electricalrouting. The interconnection structure 904 also includes multiple ILDlayers 906 to isolate various conductive features from each other. Forexample, the Multiple ILD layers 906 may include low-k dielectricmaterial or other suitable dielectric materials, such as silicon oxide.In some examples for illustration, the interconnection structure 904includes a first metal layer 910, a second metal layer 914 over thefirst metal layer 910, and a third metal layer 918 over the second metallayer 914. Each metal layer includes a plurality of metal lines. Theinterconnection structure 904 further includes vias 908, 912 and 916 toprovide vertical connections between metal lines in adjacent metallayers or between the first metal lines of the first metal layer 910 anddevices (such as the gate stacks 208 or contacts 902 of the S/D features218). In various embodiments, the conductive features (such as metallines and vias) of the interconnection structure 904 includes aluminum,copper, aluminum/silicon/copper alloy, titanium, titanium nitride,tungsten, polysilicon, metal silicide, or combinations. Theinterconnection structure 904 may use aluminum interconnection formed bydeposition and etching, or copper interconnection formed by damasceneprocess. In the copper interconnection, the conductive features includecopper and may further include a barrier layer. The copper interconnectstructure is formed by a damascene process. A damascene process includesdepositing an ILD layer; patterning the ILD layer to form trenches;depositing various conductive materials (such as a barrier layer andcopper); and performing a CMP process.

In the method 100, a lithography process and a patterned hard mask areused in different operations and collectively described below. Thepatterned mask layer may be a hard mask that is deposited and ispatterned. The hard mask includes a dielectric material such assemiconductor oxide, semiconductor nitride, semiconductor oxynitride,semiconductor carbide, or a combination thereof. The hard mask layer maybe formed by thermal growth, atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemicalvapor deposition (CVD), high density plasma CVD (HDP-CVD), othersuitable deposition processes. The formation of the hard mask includesdeposition, forming a patterned photoresist layer, and etching the hardmask using the patterned photoresist layer as an etch mask. The etchingprocess to pattern the hard mask layer may include wet etching, dryetching or a combination thereof. For example, the silicon oxide film inthe hard mask layer may be etched by a diluted hydro-fluorine solutionand the silicon nitride film in the hard mask layer may be etched by aphosphoric acid solution.

A photoresist layer includes a photosensitive material that causes thephotoresist layer to undergo a property change (such as chemical change)when exposed to light, such as ultraviolet (UV) light, deep UV (DUV)light or extreme UV (EUV) light. This property change can be used toselectively remove exposed or unexposed portions of the resist layer bya developing process referred. This procedure to form a patterned resistlayer is referred to as a lithography process. A lithography process mayinclude spin-on coating a resist layer, soft baking of the resist layer,mask aligning, exposing, post-exposure baking, developing the resistlayer, rinsing, and drying (e.g., hard baking). Alternatively, alithographic process may be implemented, supplemented, or replaced byother methods such as maskless photolithography, electron-beam writing,and ion-beam writing.

A semiconductor structure with an air gap and a method making the sameare disclosed. The method includes removing the outer gate spacer toform an air gap; and performing an ion implantation process to introduceone or more dopant species to the ILD layer, thereby expanding the ILDlayer to cap the air gap. Various advantages may be present in variousapplications of the present disclosure. No particular advantage isrequired for all embodiments, and that different embodiments may offerdifferent advantages. One of the advantages in some embodiments is thatthe air gap is sealed without deposition to achieve optimized sealingeffect and increased volume of the air gap. Furthermore, the ionimplantation process is designed through a combination of the ion beamcurrent, the implantation duration, the implantation energy, and theimplantation tilt angle such that the ILD layer expands to seal the airgap effectively and has the volume of the air gap 402 maximized. Bytuning the combination of the above processing parameters, the expandedcap of the ILD layer can have various shapes, such as a triangle shape;or a square shape; or a bowing shape to balance the sealing effect andthe air gap volume.

Thus, the present disclosure provides a method of fabricating asemiconductor structure in accordance with some embodiments. The methodincludes receiving a substrate having an active region and an isolationregion; forming gate stacks on the substrate and extending from theactive region to the isolation region; forming an inner gate spacer andan outer gate spacer on sidewalls of the gate stacks; forming an ILDlayer on the substrate; removing the outer gate spacer in the isolationregion, resulting in an air gap between the inner gate spacer and theILD layer; and performing an ion implantation process to the ILD layer,thereby expanding the ILD layer to cap the air gap.

The present disclosure also provides a method in accordance with someembodiments. The method includes receiving a substrate having a STIfeature and an active region, a gate stack on the substrate, an innergate spacer and an outer gate spacer on sidewalls of the gate stacks,and forming an ILD layer on the substrate, wherein the gate stackextends from the active region to the STI feature. The method furtherincludes removing a portion of the outer gate spacer on the STI feature,resulting in an air gap between the inner gate spacer and the ILD layer;and performing an ion implantation process to the ILD layer, therebyexpanding the ILD layer to cap the air gap.

The present disclosure further provides a semiconductor structure inaccordance with some embodiments. The semiconductor structure includes asubstrate having an active region and an isolation region; gate stackson the substrate and extending from the active region to the isolationregion; a gate spacer on sidewalls of the gate stacks; and an ILD layeron the substrate and defining an air gap between the ILD layer and thegate spacer, wherein the ILD layer includes a top portion laterallyextends to the gate spacer and caps the air gap.

Although the present disclosure and advantages of some embodiments havebeen described in detail, it should be understood that various changes,substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intendedto be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, and composition of matter, means, methods and stepsdescribed in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate from the present disclosure, processes, machines,manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presentlyexisting or later to be developed, that perform substantially the samefunction or achieve substantially the same result as the correspondingembodiments described herein may be utilized according to the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to includewithin their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositionsof matter, means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of fabricating a semiconductorstructure, comprising: receiving a substrate having an active region andan isolation region; forming gate stacks on the substrate that extendfrom the active region to the isolation region; forming an inner gatespacer and an outer gate spacer on sidewalls of the gate stacks; formingan interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer over the substrate; forming a masklayer over the substrate that exposes a portion of the ILD layer and aportion of the outer gate spacer; selectively etching the exposedportion of the outer gate spacer, resulting in an air gap between theinner gate spacer and the ILD layer; and performing an ion implantationprocess on the exposed portion of the ILD layer to seal the air gap,wherein the ion implantation process increases a dimension of the ILDlayer in a lateral direction.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theportion of the ILD layer and the portion of the outer gate spacer is inthe isolation region.
 3. The method claim 1, wherein the inner gatespacer includes a first dielectric material and the outer gate spacerincludes a second dielectric material different from the firstdielectric material.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the exposedportion of the outer gate spacer is etched without etching the innergate spacer.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the ionimplantation process includes introducing a first dopant to a topportion of the ILD layer such that the top portion expands laterally toseal the air gap.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing ofthe ion implantation process further includes adjusting a combination ofion beam current, implantation duration, and implantation energy toexpand the ILD layer.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the performingof the ion implantation process further includes varying an implantationtilt angle from 60° to −60° while the substrate rotates.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising removing the mask layer after performingthe ion implantation process.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising forming conductive features penetrating portions of the ILDlayer in the active region.
 10. A semiconductor structure, comprising: asubstrate having an active region and an isolation region; gate stackson the substrate that extend over the active region and the isolationregion; a gate spacer on sidewalls of the gate stacks; an interleveldielectric (ILD) layer over the substrate, the ILD layer having a topsurface and a bottom surface, the top surface having a width greaterthan a width of the bottom surface; and an air gap between a sidewall ofthe ILD layer and the gate spacer, wherein the air gap is confinedwithin the isolation region without extending into the active region.11. The semiconductor structure of claim 10, further comprising an etchstop layer over the ILD layer such that the air gap is in between theetch stop layer and the gate spacer.
 12. The semiconductor structure ofclaim 10, wherein the ILD layer includes a top portion and a bottomportion, the top portion having a material composition different from amaterial composition of the bottom portion.
 13. The semiconductorstructure of claim 12, wherein the top portion has a titled sidewallextending to interface the gate spacer.
 14. The semiconductor structureof claim 12, wherein the top portion includes a dopant species selectedfrom one of nickel (Ni), fluorine (F), boron fluoride (BF), germanium(Ge), cobalt (Co), argon (Ar), arsenic (As), gallium (Ga), antimony(Sb), indium (In), or a combination thereof.
 15. The semiconductorstructure of claim 12, wherein the top portion of the ILD layer has aheight less than 50 nm.
 16. A method of fabricating a semiconductorstructure, comprising: receiving a substrate having an active region andan isolation region; forming gate stacks on the substrate that extendfrom the active region to the isolation region; forming an inner gatespacer and an outer gate spacer on sidewalls of the gate stacks; formingan interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer over the substrate; forming an etchstop layer surrounding the ILD layer; forming a mask layer over thesubstrate that exposes a first portion of the outer gate spacer and aportion of the ILD layer; removing the exposed first portion of theouter gate spacer without removing a second portion of the outer gatespacer, wherein the removal results in an air gap between the inner gatespacer and the etch stop layer; and performing an ion implantationprocess on the exposed portion of the ILD layer to seal the air gap. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein the first portion of the outer gatespacer is in the isolation region and the second portion of the outergate spacer is in the active region.
 18. The method of claim 16, whereinthe removing of the exposed first portion of the outer gate spacerincludes etching the first portion of the outer gate spacer withoutsubstantially etching the inner gate spacer, the etch stop layer, andthe exposed portion of the ILD layer.
 19. The method of claim 16,wherein the performing of the ion implantation process introduces one ormore dopant to the exposed portion of the ILD layer such that a topportion of the ILD layer expands laterally to seal the air gap.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the performing of the ion implantationprocess includes performing the ion implantation process with an ionbeam current and an implantation duration to expand the ILD layerlaterally by more than 10%.